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Kerry Ehrin has taken the reins of Apple’s untitled morning show drama from Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston.

The “Bates Motel” co-creator has stepped in as showrunner, taking over for creator and writer Jay Carlson, who exited the Media Res-produced series due to creative differences.

Ehrin is also poised to become the first creator to sign an overall deal with the streamer, as the two parties work to finalize terms of an exclusive pact. Ehrin had most recently been at Universal Television.

Also Read: Apple Gives 2 Season Order to Animated Musical Series From 'Bob's Burgers' Creator

The series, picked up for two seasons last November, is described as “an inside look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning, exploring the unique challenges faced by the women (and men) who carry out this daily televised ritual.”

Aniston and Witherspoon will both star in and executive produce the series, which marks Aniston’s first regular TV role since “Friends.”

CNN’s Brian Stelter will consult on the project, with his 2013 book “Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV” serving as background material for the writers.

Also Read: Apple Picks Gaumont Television's Carol Trussell as Head of Production

Carlson’s exit marks just the latest major behind-the-scenes shift on an Apple series, even as the company has yet to premiere a show. Bryan Fuller and Hart Hanson both exited the planned reboot of Steven Spielberg’s “Amazing Stories” earlier this year.

Live TV Musicals Ranked by Ratings, From 'Little Mermaid' to 'Rent' (Photos)

ABC's "The Little Mermaid Live!" didn't flounder in Tuesday's primetime Nielsen ratings in comparison to the other live (and semi-live) TV musicals that came before it. And yes, that includes the most-recent and lowest-rated event, Fox's "Rent."

Last night's broadcast -- which cut between the 1989 animated film and live performances by the cast, including "Moana" star Auli'i Cravalho as Ariel and Queen Latifah as Ursula -- came in at No. 4 on the list of modern-day, live TV musicals ranked by their ratings among the key adults 18-49 demo. What makes that impressive slot even more impressive for "Little Mermaid" is that it was ABC's first foray into the genre since its rebirth, with all the other specials having aired on Fox or NBC.

Scroll through our gallery to see how each of broadcast TV's modern-day, live musical productions rank by Nielsen numbers. Lowest-rated is first, highest-rated is last.

Also Read: ‘The Little Mermaid Live’ Ratings Blows Fox’s ‘Rent’ Numbers Out of the Sea
ABC
Rank: 10
Musical: "Rent"
Date: January 27, 2019
Network: Fox
18-49 rating: 1.4
Total viewers: 3.415 million

Also Read: Ratings: Fox’s Semi-Live ‘Rent’ Is TV’s Least-Watched Live Musical
Fox
Rank: 9
Musical: "A Christmas Story: Live"
Date: Dec. 17, 2017
Network: Fox
18-49 rating: 1.5
Total viewers: 4.481 million

Also Read: Ratings: ‘The Good Place’ Season 3 Finale Adds a Few Viewers From Last Week
Fox
Rank: 8
Musical: "The Passion"
Date: March 20, 2016
Network: Fox
18-49 rating: 1.6
Total viewers: 6.648 million

Also Read: Ratings: ‘The Masked Singer’ Grows Against an Original ‘SEAL Team’ on CBS
Fox
Rank: 7
Musical: "Jesus Christ Superstar Live!"
Date: April 1, 2018
Network: NBC
18-49 rating: 1.7
Total viewers: 9.607 million

Also Read: Chrissy Teigen Smites Bill O’Reilly With Fiery Comeback After ‘Jesus Christ Superstar Live’ Diss
NBC
Rank: 6
Musical: "Hairspray Live!"
Date: Dec. 7, 2016
Network: NBC
18-49 rating: 2.3
Total viewers: 9.045 million

Also Read: Midseason TV 2019: Complete List of Premiere Dates for New and Returning Shows (Updating)
NBC
Rank: 5
Musical: "Peter Pan Live!"
Date: Dec. 4, 2014
Network: NBC
18-49 rating: 2.4
Total viewers: 9.211 million

Also Read: 7 New Midseason TV Shows Ranked by Premiere Viewers: From ‘Masked Singer’ to ‘Schooled’ (Photos)
NBC
Rank: 4
Musical: "The Little Mermaid Live!"
Date: Nov. 5, 2019
Network: ABC
18-49 rating: 2.6
Total viewers: 8.978 million

Also Read: ‘The Little Mermaid Live’ Ratings Blows Fox’s ‘Rent’ Numbers Out of the Sea
ABC
Rank: 3
Musical: "The Wiz Live!"
Date: Dec. 3, 2015
Network: NBC
18-49 rating: 3.4
Total viewers: 11.498 million

Also Read: Ratings: ‘The Conners’ Season Finale Grows 15 Percent, But ‘This Is Us’ Tops Tuesday
NBC
Rank: 2
Musical: "Grease: Live"
Date: Jan. 1, 2016
Network: Fox
18-49 rating: 4.3
Total viewers: 12.206 million

Also Read: Ratings: ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ Season Premiere Ranks Behind ‘AGT: Champions,’ ‘The Bachelor’
Fox
Rank: 1
Musical: "Sound of Music Live!"
Date: Dec. 5, 2013
Network: NBC
18-49 rating: 4.6
Total viewers: 18.624 million

Also Read: Ratings: ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Slips 25 Percent From NBC Debut
NBC
There is currently no upcoming live TV musical set at any of the broadcast networks, after rock opera "Hair" was scrapped by NBC last February.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.

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Turns out ABC’s Tuesday event didn’t flounder among adults 18-49

ABC's "The Little Mermaid Live!" didn't flounder in Tuesday's primetime Nielsen ratings in comparison to the other live (and semi-live) TV musicals that came before it. And yes, that includes the most-recent and lowest-rated event, Fox's "Rent."

Last night's broadcast -- which cut between the 1989 animated film and live performances by the cast, including "Moana" star Auli'i Cravalho as Ariel and Queen Latifah as Ursula -- came in at No. 4 on the list of modern-day, live TV musicals ranked by their ratings among the key adults 18-49 demo. What makes that impressive slot even more impressive for "Little Mermaid" is that it was ABC's first foray into the genre since its rebirth, with all the other specials having aired on Fox or NBC.

Scroll through our gallery to see how each of broadcast TV's modern-day, live musical productions rank by Nielsen numbers. Lowest-rated is first, highest-rated is last.

Also Read: ‘The Little Mermaid Live’ Ratings Blows Fox’s ‘Rent’ Numbers Out of the Sea

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